Weather report: Snow hanging on across the upper Midwest

In the West, precipitation is confined to western Washington. Colder air is overspreading the northern and central Rockies and the Northwest, but warmth continues to promote spring fieldwork in California and the Desert Southwest.

On the Plains, a blizzard warning is in effect across portions of the eastern Dakotas, where visibilities are sharply reduced due to wind-driven snow. Across eastern Montana and the Dakotas, bitterly cold, windy conditions are increasing stress on livestock. Elsewhere, chilly weather from Nebraska to northern Texas contrasts with lingering warmth across the southern half of Texas.

In the Corn Belt, snow is blanketing the upper Mississippi Valley, while rain is falling in the Ohio Valley. Areas in between are receiving patchy snow, sleet, and fr eezing rain. Spring has been slow to arrive in the Midwest; current snow depths include 8 inches in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and 5 inches in Madison, Wisconsin.

In the South, showers and thunderstorms are sweeping across Kentucky and Tennessee. A few showers dot the remainder of the region. The rain is slowing fieldwork but maintaining generally favorable soil moisture levels.

Outlook: Cold weather will continue to dominate the majority of the U.S. through week’s end. Lingering warmth across California and the Southwest will gradually shift eastward into Texas and the lower Southeast. Meanwhile, the coldest weather—relative to normal—will spread from the upper Midwest into the Mid-Atlantic region. Locally heavy precipitation will continue early in the week across the East, where additional amounts could reach 1 to 2 inches. Early-week snow will accumulate from the Great Lakes region into the Northeast. Toward week’s end, wet weather will return to the Southeast. Elsewhere, mostly dry weather from southern California to Texas will contrast with frequent rain and snow showers from northern California and the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for March 23-27 calls for below-normal temperatures from the Plains to the East Coast, except for warmer-than-normal weather in Maine. Warmer-than-normal weather will also prevail in the West. Meanwhile, above-normal precipitation in the southern Atlantic States and from Washington to northern Minnesota will contrast with drier-than-normal conditions in the lower Great Lakes region and from California to the middle and lower Mississippi Valley.